THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: In a stunning rebuke of the U.S. Democratic Party, a high ranking Vatican official (Archbishop Raymond Burke) has accused it of becoming a "party of death," leaving no doubt how some Vatican officials view this American institution. It's a serious blow with long lasting effects. The Prefect of the Apostolic Signature, which is comparable to the "chief justice" on the Vatican's "supreme court," (to use an American analogy), is the archbishop who overseas all matters relating to the ecclesiastical court system. His position in the worldwide Catholic Church is extremely significant and powerful, and makes him a serious future contender for the papal throne. Ergo, his condemnation of the U.S. Democratic Party is very damning.

Rarely do Vatican officials take such strong stands of condemnation against political parties. This condemnation effectively puts the U.S. Democratic Party in a rare and distinguished "Hall of Shame," accompanied by such organizations as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Nazi Party of Hitler's Germany. In comparison to such extreme examples of political thuggery, it seems shocking that a high ranking Vatican official would characterize the U.S. Democratic Party this way. Why would he do this?

It's important to note that the good archbishop prefaced this characterization by stating that the Democratic Party "risks becoming" a party of death, and he did not say it had "already become" this. That's important, because the good archbishop is leaving room for a way out - an "exit strategy" if you will - for the Democratic Party to cease supporting the "culture of death" and mend it's wicked ways.

That being said, the reasons for his condemnation should be clear to anyone who knows the slightest bit about Church teaching on the sanctity of human life and traditional marriage.

The Church teaches that abortion is a "grave sin" tantamount to murder and terrorism, while the Democratic Party asserts it is simply a matter of "personal choice."

The Church teaches that euthanasia is also "murder" comparable to the eugenic programs of Nazi Germany, while the Democratic Party asserts it is simply "death with dignity."

The Church teaches that embryonic stem-cell research is "baby farming," and "murder," similar to the kinds of human experiments performed by German doctors during the Third Reich, while the Democratic Party asserts it is simply "for a good cause."

The Church teaches that gay-marriage is a "perversion of the natural law," and an "abomination before God," while the Democratic Party asserts it is simply a matter of "civil rights."

The Church teaches that homosexual behavior is "perverse sin," and that young children should be sheltered from seeing it, while the Democratic Party asserts that it's "normal" and children should be taught to "embrace it" and be "tolerant" of it.

With such a dichotomy outlined like this, it becomes a bit more easy to understand why some Vatican officials might be inclined to think of the U.S. Democratic Party in such a negative light. Suspiciously absent is the voice of Pope Benedict XVI, which has been strangely silent, as high ranking Vatican officials make claims such as this. Those who are familiar with the nuances of "vatican-ese" (the diplomacy of Vatican words and actions) realize this could only mean one thing. The pope approves of the message. There are some things a pope simply cannot say in public. That should be well understood after the fallout following the pope's comments on Islam at the university in Germany a couple years back. Dozens of Christians lost their lives in Muslim riots after the pope quoted a medieval emperor simply in a rhetorical sense. A slip of a Vatican official's lips, exposing a message the pope does not endorse, is almost immediately followed by a disclaimer from the Vatican press office. Such is not the case following Archbishop Burke's comments harshly criticizing the U.S. Democratic Party. It simply leads one to believe the pope agrees.

"The Catholic Knight" also agrees, but as is typical of my character, I would like to take it a step further. In my opinion, the U.S. Democratic Party does not "risk" the possibility of becoming a "party of death," it instead already has, and there may be no turning back now.

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